If he likes to shoot trap / skeet. Maybe look at a Ruger Red Label O/U. The only dbl brrl currently made in the USA that i'm aware of. If you have time, maybe get some engraving done on it to mark the occasion. That gun would mean the world to him, and something worthy of passing down, keep in the family. Or a Mossberg Silver Reserve is a very nice O/U for the money...

Seriously look at the Over and Under offerings from CZ. I have one of their Canvasbacks (more of a field weight gun) that swings very nice shooting clays. The Quality and appearance of their guns is always a step well above their price point. I also own 4 other shotguns and the CZ is the go to gun for anything but nasty weather or a boat trip (my stuff always gets scratches and scuffed in the John boat)

Remingtons are most assuredly not trash. Hard to beat a good/excellent used Remington Model 1100 either with screw in chokes or in Skeet configuration. I started shooting skeet with an 1100 51 years ago and I have never found a gun i like better. And I shoot the same one when i shoot a 12 gauge - over 115,000 rounds and going strong. The Beretta 390 was my favorite Beretta, and there are some good used specimens of those floating around, too.
If you decide to get an O/U, don't try to go cheap. The cheap guns do not impress anyone in the know, they typically do not handle as good as a decent one, and they usually do not hold up all that well. I would way way prefer a good repeater to a cheap O/U.
The new Ruger Red Label that so many are gaga over is having teething problems. The big plusses you hear are its American made, and it's relatively cheap. They had years to get generation one sorted out and never did. I hope they do get it right, because I want a Gold label, but I am not about to pay for the privilege of being a Beta tester.

Remingtons are most assuredly not trash. Hard to beat a good/excellent used Remington Model 1100 either with screw in chokes or in Skeet configuration. I started shooting skeet with an 1100 51 years ago and I have never found a gun i like better. And I shoot the same one when i shoot a 12 gauge - over 115,000 rounds and going strong. The Beretta 390 was my favorite Beretta, and there are some good used specimens of those floating around, too.
If you decide to get an O/U, don't try to go cheap. The cheap guns do not impress anyone in the know, they typically do not handle as good as a decent one, and they usually do not hold up all that well. I would way way prefer a good repeater to a cheap O/U.
The new Ruger Red Label that so many are gaga over is having teething problems. The big plusses you hear are its American made, and it's relatively cheap. They had years to get generation one sorted out and never did. I hope they do get it right, because I want a Gold label, but I am not about to pay for the privilege of being a Beta tester.

I have not seen a lot of negative feedback on the new Red Label. Can you provide some links or references? I have had the opportunity to look one over. Granted, that was at SHOT Show where one would presume they would have a well-tested gun on display (though I was simply amazed at the number of guns I saw that were on display that appeared to be, shall we say, less than marketable) and I was not able to shoot it at all. It did appear to be a very fine shotgun indeed. I am hoping to get a test gun sent out sometime in the future so I can run it through its paces.

Look, a decent over/under is gonna be spendy. A used SKB is still $1600. A Guerini is $3000+. A Beretta 682 is expensive. A Citori Lightning is $1700. The only 'cheap' over/under is a Mossberg Silver Reserve or Ruger Red Label, and the Ruger is a grand. That's cheap by over/under standards. Not knowing what he wants to spend it's hard to suggest but I'm betting he wasn't thinking a grand or more. For skeet, my opinion, avoid the pumps. So that takes us to semi-autos. The best sub $700 gun is a good condition used Remington 1100, period. Everyone loves those. If you want a new gun then a Mossberg 930 JM Pro Series is a solid 'do everything' gun. It's choked so you can put a skeet choke in it. It's a 3-gun competition gun so it can do that. It holds 10 shells so its good for zombies. You could hunt with it. You can defend your home with it. It's a solid piece of kit, and, everyone loves my buddy's on the skeet field. It gets more attention than my expensive over/unders. You could do a lot worse. It's like $650, new.

Look, a decent over/under is gonna be spendy. A used SKB is still $1600. A Guerini is $3000+. A Beretta 682 is expensive. A Citori Lightning is $1700. The only 'cheap' over/under is a Mossberg Silver Reserve or Ruger Red Label, and the Ruger is a grand. That's cheap by over/under standards. Not knowing what he wants to spend it's hard to suggest but I'm betting he wasn't thinking a grand or more. For skeet, my opinion, avoid the pumps. So that takes us to semi-autos. The best sub $700 gun is a good condition used Remington 1100, period. Everyone loves those. If you want a new gun then a Mossberg 930 JM Pro Series is a solid 'do everything' gun. It's choked so you can put a skeet choke in it. It's a 3-gun competition gun so it can do that. It holds 10 shells so its good for zombies. You could hunt with it. You can defend your home with it. It's a solid piece of kit, and, everyone loves my buddy's on the skeet field. It gets more attention than my expensive over/unders. You could do a lot worse. It's like $650, new.

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I use a pump for shooting skeet. Makes it more challenging.

Anyhow, I agree that a semi-auto would be less expensive than an over-under and better than a pump for that purpose, but the ideal shotty for skeet is an over-under. Plus, Humboldtbrewer didn't specify any price point so I would not presume to set one for him based on my own ability to afford anything. If that were the case I would tell him to find an old Sears/Roebuck at the pawn shop!